EDITORIAL: Rethinking the state's economy

Published: Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at 05:45 PM.

Florida’s economy is gaining steam. We know this not just because Gov. Rick Scott is in full campaign mode and keeps saying so, but also because the numbers prove it. State unemployment is down. Building permits and tax collections are up. Just around the corner, we’re told, is a $1.2 billion budget surplus.
Then why aren’t state economists smiling?
Because statistics don’t tell the whole story. Look a little harder and even the rosiest forecast loses its healthy glow.
In a new, 29-page overview of Florida’s economy, the Office and Economic and Demographic Research points out that the state’s 6.2 percent unemployment rate — which is below the national average — looks as good as it does because some people have given up looking for work and others haven’t started. They’re not counted. If they were, the unemployment rate would be almost 7 percent.
That’s true, but the same can be said of unemployment stats in the 49 other states and for the country as a whole. Florida isn’t unique.
The report also finds a downside to Florida’s average wage and other oft-cited indicators. “It will take a few more years,” it says, “to climb completely out of the hole left by the recession.”
That may be true also, but the best way to hasten a return to normalcy is to keep Florida’s economic recovery chugging along with tax cuts and rollbacks of regulations.
The four “tax holidays” the Legislature is considering — brief periods when sales taxes won’t be charged on back-to-school items, hurricane supplies, energy-saving appliances and gym memberships — would be one way to goose the economy. Even better is a reduction in annual vehicle registration fees that Gov. Scott just signed into law. It’s expected to save motorists about $25 per tag.
Keep the tax cuts coming, legislators, and maybe you’ll convince the experts that Florida’s economic comeback is the real thing.

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Florida’s economy is gaining steam. We know this not just because Gov. Rick Scott is in full campaign mode and keeps saying so, but also because the numbers prove it. State unemployment is down. Building permits and tax collections are up. Just around the corner, we’re told, is a $1.2 billion budget surplus.
Then why aren’t state economists smiling?
Because statistics don’t tell the whole story. Look a little harder and even the rosiest forecast loses its healthy glow.
In a new, 29-page overview of Florida’s economy, the Office and Economic and Demographic Research points out that the state’s 6.2 percent unemployment rate — which is below the national average — looks as good as it does because some people have given up looking for work and others haven’t started. They’re not counted. If they were, the unemployment rate would be almost 7 percent.
That’s true, but the same can be said of unemployment stats in the 49 other states and for the country as a whole. Florida isn’t unique.
The report also finds a downside to Florida’s average wage and other oft-cited indicators. “It will take a few more years,” it says, “to climb completely out of the hole left by the recession.”
That may be true also, but the best way to hasten a return to normalcy is to keep Florida’s economic recovery chugging along with tax cuts and rollbacks of regulations.
The four “tax holidays” the Legislature is considering — brief periods when sales taxes won’t be charged on back-to-school items, hurricane supplies, energy-saving appliances and gym memberships — would be one way to goose the economy. Even better is a reduction in annual vehicle registration fees that Gov. Scott just signed into law. It’s expected to save motorists about $25 per tag.
Keep the tax cuts coming, legislators, and maybe you’ll convince the experts that Florida’s economic comeback is the real thing.